House Protects God in Pledge of Allegiance

[Freedom_from_Chains]

"We should not and cannot rewrite history to ignore our spiritual heritage," said Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn. "It surrounds us. It cries out for our country to honor God."

We also should not rewrite our constitution, or reconstruct our government, to subvert it to the will of the theocraticćs among us today. The founders purposefully created a secular government to protect us from the abuses and suffering perpetuated on man by the commingling of church and state which played such a large role in our European ancestors history.


WASHINGTON — The House, citing the nation's religious origins, voted Wednesday to protect the Pledge of Allegiance from federal judges who might try to stop schoolchildren and others from reciting it because of the phrase "under God."

The legislation, a priority of social conservatives, passed 260-167. It now goes to the Senate where its future is uncertain.

Click here to see how your representative voted.

"We should not and cannot rewrite history to ignore our spiritual heritage," said Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn. "It surrounds us. It cries out for our country to honor God."

Opponents said the legislation, which would bar federal courts from ruling on the constitutional validity of the pledge, would undercut judicial independence and would deny access to federal courts to religious minorities seeking to defend their rights.

"We are making an all-out assault on the Constitution of the United States which, thank God, will fail," said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The pledge bill would deny jurisdiction to federal courts, and appellate jurisdiction to the Supreme Court, to decide questions pertaining to the interpretation or constitutionality of the pledge. State courts could still decide whether the pledge is valid within the state.

(con't)http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,204395,00.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. The Founding Fathers weren't all that religious

Jefferson was a deist, Adams a Uniterian; the ideas of the Enlightenment were what was used to create our nation. It was in the colonial Massachusetts Bay Colony that we learned the dangers of theocracy, around 1692 in Salem.

[darkmaestro019]

2. Oh, I know how "my representative" voted

Ohio. I should take BETS on how the vote will go, here. I've been right EVERY SINGLE TIME. All I have to do is pick the evil side of an issue and that's how our guys roll, here.


:puke:

[Freedom_from_Chains]

6. If history teaches us anything it is that every generation has had

its set of beliefs about the world and the nature of reality around them. Which the test of time has, in the majority of cases, proved most of them to be wrong.

So what does this mean to me? Well it means that I could take any 10 issues in the public debate, of which I know nothing about, simply look at what the polls show the majority believes, and vote for the opposite. In the final analysis I would end up being on the right side of the issue more times than not.

This is definitely one of those times. (Although separation of church and state is an issue I have studied at length)

[Goblinmonger]

3. Ignorant Asshats

Another step toward the theocracy. Are democrats actually going to stand up to it this time or is this something we shouldn't talk about because it will divide the party and give ultra-conservatives something to bitch about.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

13. Shhhh

let's not poke the beast with a stick!


Oh hell. Let's! Why not? Like God really cares.

[nickinSTL]

4. idiot...the pledge was rewritten in the 50's

protecting...:puke:

[Ian David]

5. Can you link to something other than Faux News? n/t

[Freedom_from_Chains]

7. Why, they are the ones carrying the story. n/t

[Magical]

8. Who is this GOD ?

GOD is a WORD,
a sound uttered,
to convey, WHAT ?

Is not GOD within ?
Does not each have their own GOD ?
Is not heaven here and now ?
Are not children the purest manifestation of GOD ?

Is not Fundamentalism DENOTATION...
and totally missing the point.

The map is not the territory.
The word is not the thing.
The letter is not the spirit.

Is not GOD a CONNOTATION...
The spirit within each of us...
The gleam in the child's eye...
The chills we feel when truth is before us...
The unity we feel in nature...
The ultimate mystery, indefineable.

Those who claim to know GOD, do not.

Like someone could own the concept of GOD ?
How un-GOD like is that ?

[Freedom_from_Chains]

9. Like someone could own the concept of GOD

Don't mention that, the theocrates, i.e. Republicans, might try to trademark it.

[liberalmuse]

10. Fuck Congress.

I mean, they don't have an issue with the torture, rape and mass-murder we're responsible for in Iraq, and they have yet to measure in on the violence being committed against the civilian population of Lebanon by the monster we've helped create, but these degenerate posturers have kept America on the straight and narrow by ensuring we pledge our allegience to the fucking tooth fairy. We need to vote this festering stink of a Congress OUT.

[MindPilot]

11. What part of "Congress shall make no law..."

do they not get?

[RaleighNCDUer]

12. What they are protecting is --

"There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet". So says the Koran, and believed by a billion people worldwide, including millions of Americans.

God = Allah.

So we are supposed to say "One Nation under Allah"?

Would ANY of those who voted for this say that?

And why not?

[Freedom_from_Chains]

14. That's just way too over their head. n/t

[charlie]

15. Another *gotcha* vote

It's election season. Wabbit season! Election season!

[SPKrazy]

16. I Didn't Realize God Needed Protecting

or that God really cares whether God's name is invoked in the Pledge Of Allegiance.

as others have noted, God wasn't invoked in the Pledge until the 1950's and was only invoked then to make a statement about the US vs USSR- or "God vs. Godless communism" if I recall correctly.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

17. You recall correctly. n/t

[charlie]

18. Another legacy of McCarthy

when we were eying each other suspiciously and ever more compulsive and unambiguous oaths of fealty were required to prove you were true blue. A situation we're now having the displeasure of becoming reacquainted with.

[neebob]

19. Good to know the buttmunches are on the job

earning their excessive salaries by ensuring that all the children pay lip service to Mr. Invisible while geing forced to pledge allegiance to a piece of cloth.

[NMMNG]

20. What a fool!

"We should not and cannot rewrite history to ignore our spiritual heritage," said Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn. "It surrounds us. It cries out for our country to honor God."

History was rewritten to put "God" into the Pledge in the first place! Taking God out would restore the Pledge to its original historical state and rhythm.

I despise how these people who have no clue whine about how others are going to "rewrite history". :eyes:

[charlie]

21. Hah

He knows. He said everything but, "I'm Zach Wamp and I approved this message." It's the dumb bunnies back home he's counting on not knowing (or not caring).

Zach Wamp led the fight against liberal forces who would deny us our freedoms.

"We should not and cannot rewrite history to ignore our spiritual heritage. It surrounds us. It cries out for our country to honor God!"

Preserving our heritage. Protecting our values. Zach Wamp. Standing tough for what America believes in.

[NMMNG]

22. "liberal forces who would deny us our freedoms."

What about our freedom to not have one group's religion forced on everybody? What about our freedom to have the Pledge restored to its original form? Are those the freedoms Wamp is talking about? :shrug:

[charlie]

23. No, no

Sorry about that. The political ad is phony, what I figure'd he do with his hissy fit on the floor. Good questions, but I'm sure Zach isn't interested. He's interested in votes, not honesty.

[NMMNG]

24. As are all fundie/Repug politicians

They wouldn't know honesty if it ran them over, backed up and smacked them with a two-by-four.

[charlie]

25. LOL

True dat. And it would hurt just as much, too.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

26. Don't kid yourself, they not only have a clue they know what the

history is. The fact is they lie about it to achieve a political end, which to me is more sinister than just being clueless.

[NMMNG]

28. If that's true that's scary

I've run into people who literally have no clue, so I tend to think most people who make proclamations like that are just clueless dolts spewing talking points they've heard from others. To think that they are purposely distorting things for their agenda makes it much worse.

[Zhade]

27. Blatantly unconstitutional.

But since probably 90-95% of this government - including a lot of Dems - don't really give a shit about that sacred document, I'm hardly surprised.